The Philosophical Analysis of Duality Theme in F. Dostoevsky’s Works

The problem of duality was first developed and stated by F. M. Dostoevsky in the novel "The Double", published in 1846 with the subtitle "The Adventures of Mr. Goliadkin". Despite the enthusiasm of Dostoevsky himself ("this will be my chef-d'oeuvre" and "Goliadkin was extremely successful for me"), the "Double" was not properly perceived by critics and the public, and the idea of duality stated in the story remained misunderstood by the writer's contemporaries. Reflecting on this failure that befell the "Double", 30 years later, Dostoevsky in the "Diary of a writer" for 1877 wrote: "This story was positively unsuccessful for me, but its idea was quite bright, and I have never done anything more serious in literature than this idea. But the form of this story failed me completely <...>, and if I had now taken up this idea and presented it again, I would have taken a completely different form; but in 46, I did not find this form and did not master the story." According to D. I. Chizhevsky, this problem had a deep philosophical significance, which is why it acquired an obsessive character for Dostoevsky himself. Duality, thus, turns out to be not only the most serious idea (according to the writer himself), but also the main problem that permeates almost all of Dostoevsky's work. The paper attempts to reveal the philosophical meaning of the problem of duality, as well as an attempt to consider it in the context of the problem of the Other.